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It also strikes me how much the old phone network, and its cultural aspects, have faded into the past - particularly when I drive past some derelict bit of tele
by flyinghamster 3y ago
It also strikes me how much the old phone network, and its cultural aspects, have faded into the past - particularly when I drive past some derelict bit of telecom infrastructure. Even 30 years ago, it was amusing to watch kids try to deal with a rotary-dial phone. Now even landlines are an endangered species, and area codes are barely relevant. Finding a working telco pay phone these days would be like finding a unicorn.
Meanwhile, on a random roadtrip through rural Illinois yesterday, I was seeing "5G UC" on my cell phone, out in the middle of nowhere. Unevenly distributed, indeed!
- dylan604 3y ago>Finding a working telco pay phone these days would be like finding a unicorn. Even if I found one, I would only be able to make a collect call. I never carry loose change on me, and I haven't had a calling card in decades.
- actionfromafar 3y agoThere used to be a way to pay with credit card IIRC?
- dylan604 3y agoNot that I was ever exposed to. Calling cards were just account numbers with a monthly statement. If you used a credit card for that, then maybe, but to me paying with a credit card suggests a per call transaction. That I have not experienced. But the world is a bigger place than just me, so maybe it was available in other areas?